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L. I. WHEIELEII AND H. R. ROBBINS. PROCESS OF-ANI) APPARATUS FOR THE CONCENTRATION 0F GRAPHITE DRES.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 3l. l9ll.

Patented (Ict. 7, 1919.

IIIIIIIII.

W J. m M L mf l M j w UNTTED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE.

LAUREN J'. WHEELER AND HABLAN' R. IBDIBBINS, 0F SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH.

PROCESS F ANI) APPARATUS FOB THE CONCENTRATION 0F GRAPHITE OBES.

Specletion of Letters Patent.

Application led December 31, 1917. Serial No. 209,725.

To all 'whom it may concern.'

Be it known that we, LAUREN J. WHEELER and HABLAN R. ROBBINs, citizens of the United States, residing at Salt Lake City in the county of Salt Lake and State of Utah, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes of and Apparatus for the Concentration of Graphite Orcs, of whichthe following is a specification.

Our invention relates to an apparatus for the concentration of graphite ores, in a dry state; in other words, the object of the invention is to separate graphite from gangue materials with which it is associated and to dothis by a combination of effects which take advantage of the difference in cohesion, weight, resilience and shape of the particles of graphite and the gangue minerals with which the graphite is usually found.

With the above and other objects in view, our invention consists of the process, the parts and the constructions, arrangements and combinations of parts which we will hereinafter describe and claim.

It is well known that graphite is a sectile mineral of comparatively low resilience while quartz, feldspar, and'such materials which are the .main impurities of graphite ores, are resilient to a greater deg'ree than graphite.

In carrying out the invention we may use our process in connection with different types of apparatus. `I-Ience the process portion of the invention is not to be understood as restricted to the specific mechanism hereinafter described, and to the precise character of apparatus shown and which may be treated as embodiments of mechanism which will be found useful in working the process.

In the accompanying drawings- Figure 1 represents a vertical cross sectional view of a graphite machine embodying our invention. i

Fig. 2 is an end view of Fig. 1.

Fig, 3 illustrates a further embodiment of mechanism by which our invention can be carried out.

In the type of machine illustrated in Fig. 1, A represents a feeding mechanism of the endless-belt type and which is designed to operate below the mouth or discharge of a storage bin, A containing the material to be treated, the feeder delivering said material through an opening in the upper portion of an appropriate casing, B', which forms a housing or inclosure for a drum, B, to

which rotary motion is communicated by pulleys or otherwise, and the surface of which Adrum may be plain or rough and may be of iron, wood, glass or fabric, as will be found best suited for our purposes, said drum being designed to be rotated in the direction of the arrow, C.

The lower portion of the casing, B', is formed with separate hopper-shaped port1on s, F-H one of which is designed as a receiver for the gangue, or Waste material, and the other a receiver for therseparated graphite, these hopper-like portions having depending tubes or being otherwise pro vided with outlets for'the discharge of the material received into the hoppers.

In the upper portion of the chamber in which the drum rotates and mounted on the caslng at a point to one side of the vertical center thereof and of the rotating drum, is a vertically-disposed baille, E, the width of which is approximately equal to that of the drum, said drum being provided with end anges, D2, between which the ends of the baille are located. The baffle is connected to a screw or appropriate means by which it may be raised 'and lowered relatively to the ysurface of the drum.

In the lower portion of the casing, say about midway between the hopper portions thereof is disposed a wiper, G, of suitable material and which projects upwardly into the chamber of the shellA and into contact with the surface of the rotating drum, y

As before stated, our invention comprehends a process wherein the separa-tion of the graphite from the gangue minerals is effected by taking advantage of the difference in cohesion, weight, resilience and shape of the particles of graphite and gangue minerals, and in the carrying out of the process Y We feed the material from the storage bin onto the declining surface presented by the circumference of the drum. This delivery of the material upon the surface of the drum is at a point to one side of the vertical longitudinal center of said drum, and the said l drum is rotated at a suliicient speed to cause the formation of an air-filmthereabout and as the material is dropped upon the drum, the graphite particles will either adhere to the surface of said drum or will be caught in and carried around by the air-film, and beneath the lower edge of the baliie and past the vertical center of the drum and will finally be delivered over the other side of the drum and into the hopper or bin, F, rovided for the pu Any graphite w ich might adhere to t e surface of the drum will be engaged by the wiper G and removed and directed into said bin.

The ngue minerals forming part of the origina feed upon comin in contact with the surface of the drum wi because of their greater resilience rebound beyond the air ilm and into the space formed between the drum and the inner wall of the casing and will drop into the hopper or bin, H; and any gangue minerals which may be caught up by the air-film which circumscribes the drum will be swept from the surface of the latter on coming in contact with the lower edge of the interposed baille, and thus will be thrown back and finally directed into the .said bin or hopper, H.

The graphite particles of the feed which have less resilience and weight, but greater cohesion than the gangue particles and which graphite particles are caught up by the air-film, come in contact with the baille, E, but do not rebound. Rather they drop onto the surface and remain thereon 'and are carried around beneath the baile to the other side of the center of the drum and thence they drop into the hopper, F, or are detached from the surface by means of the wiper, G. The flanges with which the ends of the drum are providedserve to revent the particles of ore from rolling OHP the side or ends of the drum.

The strength of the air-film before delscribed ma be regulated by the speed at which the rum is rotated. If the drum is rotated very slowly there will be practically no air-film and the apparatus just described will work by the action of the cohesion of the particles and consequently when the feed is dropped onto the surface of the drum, the graphite or material of le resilience but greater cohesive power will'adhere to the surface of the drum and be carried over into the hopper, F, while the gangue minerals being more resilient and less cohesive, will rebound and slide ldown the surface of the drum into the bin or hopper, H.

The method hereinbefore described may also be carried out in all of its essential steps by the simple mechanism in F-ig. 3. In this case, the ore is fed from an appropriate feeder, A2, upon the upper portion of an inclined surface and which surface may be of such materials as we have heretofore referred to, as constituting the surface of the drum. At the lower end of this inclined surface, B2, are placed the bins or hoppers, D2, D3, which are spaced an appropriate distance below the delivery end of the incline, and which end is also positioned slightly back or to one side of the division line between the two hoppers or bins shown for illustrative purposes. As the material is delivered upon the' upper portion of the inclined surface.and which surface may be either stationary or vibratory, the gangue the inclined plane that they will come oil' the edge thereof at a greater distance than the graphite particles, and, therefore, can be separated therefrom without serious diflculty.

From the foregoing description it will be understood that when employing either of the mechanisms shown or any other equivalent parts, the sand and other hard impurities with which the graphite is originally associated will, upon strlking the inclined' surface either make a series of jumps down the plane or roll more rapidly thereover than the graphite ywill slide, and will, therefore, be carried farther fro-m the lower edge of the inclined plane of Fig. ,3, or will rebound from the inclined surface of the drum of Fig. 1, so as to be capable of collection in a separate receptacle.

Having thus described our invention what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. An ore separator comprising a substantially closed casing, a drum inclosed by and mounted to rotate therein, means for operating the 4drum to induce an air-film in proximity to the surface thereof, means for feeding material to be separated onto the surface of the drum, said air-film attracting to the surface certain constituents of the ore, and said surface causing the other constituents of the ore to rebound therefrom out of the sphere of action of the air-film, and separate receivers for the separated particles of the ore mass.

2. An ore separator comprising a substantially closed casing, a drum entirely inclosed by and mounted to rotate therein, means for operating the drum to induce an air-film in proximity to the surface thereof, means for feeding material to be separated onto the surface of the drum, said air-film attracting to the surface certain constituents of the ore, and said surface causin other constituents of the ore to rebound terefrom out of the sphere of action ofthe air-film, and separate receivers forV the separated particles of the ore mass, said casing having a 'feed inlet in the upper portion and said receivers being formed 1n the casing below said drum.

3. An ore separator comprising a casing, a drum mounted to rotate therein, means for operating the drum to induce an air-film in proximity to the surface thereof, means for p feeding material/to be separated onto the surface of the drum, said air-film attracting to the surface certain constituents of the ore, and said surface causing the other constituents of the ore to rebound therefrom .out of the sphere of action of the air-film, separate receivers for the separated particles of the ore mass, and a baille in advance of the vertical center of the drum arranged adjacent the periphery of the upper portion of the drum and beneath the lower edge of which the adhering particles pass to the opposite side of said drum, said baille extending substantially the entire width of the drum.

4. An ore separator comprisin a casing, a drum inclosed by and mounted to rotate therein, means for operating the drum to induce an air-film in proximity to the surface thereof, means for feeding material to be separated onto the surface of the drum, said air-film attracting to the'surface certain constituents of the ore, and said surface causing the other constituents of the ore to rebound therefrom out of the sphere of action of the air-film, separate receivers for the separated particles of the ore mass, and a baille arranged adjacent the periphery of the upper portion of the drum and beneath the lower 4edge of which the adhering articles pass to the opposite side of said rum, said drum having Iend flanges contiguous to which the ends of the baille terminate.

5. An ore separator comprising a casing, a drum mounted to rotate therein, means for operating the drum to induce an air-film in proximity to the surface thereof, means for feeding material to be separated onto the surface of the drum, said air-film attracting to the surface certain constituents 0f the ore, and said surface causing the other constituents of the ore to rebound therefrom out of the sphere of action of the air-film, separate receivers for the separated particles of the ore mass, a baille extending substantially the width of the drum and arranged adjacent the periphery of the upper portion of the drum and beneath the lower ed e f which the adhering particles pass to t e opposite side'of said drum, said drum having circumferential flanges disposed adjacent the ends of the baille and means for vertically ad'usting the baille relatively to the surface o the drum.

6. An ore separator comprising a casing, a drum mounted to rotate therein, means for operating the drum to induce anair-lm in proximity to the surface thereof, means for feeding material to be separated onto the surface of the drum, said air-film attracting to the surface certain constituents of the ore, and said surface causing the other constituents of the ore to rebound therefrom out of the sphere of action of the air-film, said casing inclosing the drum above and below and provided with separate receivers for the separated particles of the ore mass, and a Wiper within the casing and supported below the drum and adapted to engage the surface thereof and remove adhering particles.

rocess of separating ores which consists 1n delivering a body of ore containing particles having different degrees of cohesion and resilience upon an inclined surface and spreading the ore in a thin layer thereover and creating in proximit to said surface an air-film which induces t e particles of inferior resilience 4and superior cohesion to adhere to said surface, and simultaneously rejecting the particles of superior resilience and inferior cohesion by causing themto rebound out of the sphere of action of said air-film.

In testimony whereof we ailiX our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

- LAUREN J. WHEELER.

HARLAN R. ROBBINS.

Witnesses:

F. HEGINBOTHAM, J. M. GALLow. 

